A couple of folks I really respect – Kate Gould of Friends Committee on National Legislation (aka, the Quaker Lobby), and Jim Wallis of Sojourners – were recently on the O’Reilly Factor. For those of you who don’t watch cable news, this is a television program where Bill O’Reilly basically screams at people and incites …
Do you remember saying the Pledge of Allegiance as a kid? When I was growing up, the Pledge was a standard part of every public school classroom. Each morning during announcements, we would be asked to stand and, turning to the American flag that hung at the front of the class, every student and teacher …
In my last post, I mentioned that in the mid-1990s the Friends of Jesus community in Wichita, Kansas produced a white paper on their biblical understanding of gay and lesbian Christians. A commenter asked whether a copy of this document is still available. It is! The following is a statement prepared by the Friends of …
Read more “What Does the Bible Actually Say About LGBT Equality?”
We have a national religion in a America, and it’s not Christianity. We saw it on display Tuesday night, when all three branches of government gathered together for the greatest annual act of public liturgy that exists in our society. The State of the Union address is a high holy day of the American state, …
Curly: Do you know what the secret of life is? [holds up one finger] Curly: This. Mitch: Your finger? Curly: One thing. Just one thing. You stick to that and the rest don’t mean [anything]. Mitch: But, what is the “one thing?” Curly: [smiles] That’s what *you* have to find out. From City Slickers (1991) …
Art thou in the darkness? Mind it not, for if thou dost it will feed thee more. But stand still, and act not, and wait in patience, till light arises out of darkness and leads thee. James Nayler (1659) When we are facing spiritual darkness and despair, there are several ways that we can choose …
We must hold the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other. – Karl Barth Every morning I wake up, make my tea, and sit down at the breakfast table with the latest edition of The Washington Post. I usually read the A Section, news about what is happening in across the nation …